Venezuela Commemorates Chavez With Protests

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This week marks the one-year anniversary of Hugo Chávez’s death. Riots and protests have engulfed Venezuela as the government of Chávez’s successor, Nicolas Maduro, commemorates the dead comandante. Wednesday was the latest of a series of clashes between the opposition and government security forces that have left at least 20 dead and dozens detained. Maria Hinojosa walks us through the history behind the cult of Hugo Chávez and she interviews Caracas-based reporter Girish Gupta about the situation on the ground.

Girish Gupta is a British foreign correspondent based in Caracas, Venezuela. He’s covered the Mexican drug wars, illegal smuggling in the Amazon and the ups and downs of Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela. He also reports on the Middle East. He holds a Masters in Physics from the University of Manchester.

Regarding the protests in Venezuela now marking the one year anniversary of Hugo Chavez’ death, Latino USAn would have served the debate on the Maduro government’s success or failure better had you presented the issue that the country is also marking the 25th anniversary of the successful challenge to the corporitist/ right-wing control represented by the Perez government in 1989.The Perez Gov’t was notorious for following the free-market capitalism of the Chicago School and Milton Friedman. These policies were detrimental to the middle class and poor in Venezuela and throughout Latin America. With the backing of the USA, these countries privatized public industries, deregulated corporations and turned back social welfare programs. The gap between rich and poor increased and in a country like Venezuela, the results are still visible even after reversals under Chavez and Maduro. The current government may need to be challenged but there are democratic process for this. It should be worth noting that there has been covert funding (by the US and multi-nationals )of the conservative-corporatist opposition to Chavez and Madura for the past 15 years. Such covert attempts lead to destabilization of even the most democratic governments around the globe.

Before Chávez became a president dolar market was free, you could easily find basic goods, he did not help the economy, he settle the base for a new Castro-communism in Venezuela! HE WAS A DICTATOR!! A MURDERER!! And Maduro is even worse!! I really don’t know wy NPR is taken such a soft position with what’s going on in Venezuela! There’s no mention of 25000 kills in just LAST YEAR, that there’s a scarcity of 80% of the basic goods, or that in the last 15 yeas you could by a $1 for 175Bs and now a dolar on the black market is $1= 87,000Bs and the official exchange $1=6100Bs (this one is very difficult to have and the goverment will let you buy ONLY $2500 total in a year)
I’ve being away of my homeland for two years now… And I miss the country where I grow up. It doesn’t exist anymore!!!

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